Schumacher, Coulthard Disqualified After 1-2 Finish in Brazilian Grand Prix

The first and second finishers in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday--Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard--were disqualified for using improper fuel.

Gerhard Berger of Austria, third in a Ferrari, was declared the winner in the Formula One opener after finishing a lap behind.

The International Automobile Federation decided to “inflict the penalty of exclusion” of the cars after the fuel was tested.

Schumacher’s Benetton team said it would appeal because the French company that supplies fuel for its Renault and that of Coulthard’s Williams team maintained it conformed to regulations.

Schumacher completed the 71 laps around the twisting 2.637-mile Interlagos circuit in 1 hour 38 minutes 34.154 seconds, beating Coulthard by more than eight seconds.